Iran is considered part of Asia. Similarly to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan.

This is all tentative at this point. Our list will become more accurate as we approach May 2019, when the official nominations are published. However, its worth noting our accuracy has certainly improved over the years.

I believe Canada may submit a nomination. In regards to Latin America, there always seem to be some nominations that fly under our radar. So I expect more than just Brazil!

Apocryphally, you would fail the entrance exam for the UK foreign office for making that mistake. Though it is a pretty common misconception one that I'm pretty sure I've made in the past before finding out it isn't the case.

But no Iran isn't an Arab state, essentially Arabs only make up a very small minority (2%) in the majority Persian country. Not the best link but this explains the basics.

Apocryphally, you would fail the entrance exam for the UK foreign office for making that mistake. Though it is a pretty common misconception one that I'm pretty sure I've made in the past before finding out it isn't the case.

But no Iran isn't an Arab state, essentially Arabs only make up a very small minority (2%) in the majority Persian country. Not the best link but this explains the basics.

I know this seems stupid but I was not thinking and considered this their "political" name for Middle East. Unclear why Arab States gets a special region and not ASEAN, Caribbean, Minor Asia, Polynesia etc. Demographics change. Egyptians aren't Arabs either.

Malta joined UNESCO in Feb 1965 and the comments in the above link about when it might have been assigned to "Arab States" don't provide a specific date - i.e was it "on joining" or later? In fact Malta is ALSO a member of the Europe/N America grouping (but when this happened isn't known to me). This "joint region" is not a unique arrangement - Russia and Turkey are "in" both the Eur/N Am and Asia/Pacific regions - though perhaps with more justification! (Note how Israel requested, and was granted, a change of "region"!!)

Can Clyde give us any more information as to why Malta should both originally and even today be a "member" of the Arab region and when the "dual" region occurred? We know of course that it is geographically adjacent and that there is a shared history and even language to a degree but the same could be said for e.g Spain.Was it, back in 1965, soon after independence in 1964 and long before Malta joined the EU (2004), a reflection of the fact that Malta had visions of being a "bridge" between Europe and Arab countries - or even a part of the latter?? I found this para "It was by no means a given, following independence, that the country would choose to join the developing union of liberal nations to its north. During the four decades leading up to EU accession, Maltese governments explored many options, including cooperation with their resource-rich but largely authoritarian neighbours to the south. There were discussions about joining the Arab League and close ties forged with Gaddafi's Libya. Remnants of that relationship remain, such as the island's so-called Gaddafi Garden, a public space that was officially opened by the dictator during a visit in 1984. This year, it was renamed Mediterranean Garden. By the time Malta finally joined the EU in 2004, after years of hesitating, the country had changed significantly. It had built up a strong free-market economy (a shift from its more protectionist years, in part at the encouragement of the EU), a booming tourism industry and a long stint with a pro-European government."So - the (part) assignment to the "Arab Region" is a "left over" from the early days of independence and remains (possibly?) to provide Malta with a little "extra" bit of leverage in dealings with the Arab countries to its south?? Also it would seem from other articles that the EU very much favours this "liaison" role being carried out by Malta in relation to the Maghreb etc and of course it gives Malta a specific "Foreign policy" role which raises its importance and profile within the EU.

On another point about "Regions" I note that the Comoros are a member of the Arab League but are (solely) a part of the Africa UNESCO region.

SolivagantHard to tell, especially if it's really linked to politics. Malta has always been considered as a geographical stepping stone/bridge/military base between Africa and Europe and technically in geographic and geopolitical terms it forms part of both continents (especially since its territorial waters extend close to Djerba and Tripoli; much bigger than its land surface area!). The same categorisstion takes place in the World Bank so UNESCO might have followed this geographical reasoning when assigning Malta this dual status, but I'm only guessing here.

The report said the government already submit document to UNESCO and is now underway to present the corresponding documentation, so that next year (2020 WHC?), La Isabela, historic city of Puerto Plata will be declared a World Heritage Site